Not another one!

[greatwhites2k]

I know this shot has been done a lot, but i need to choose one, Which do you prefer. C&C apreciated

#1
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u111/japosrt4/noreenring.jpg


or #2

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u111/japosrt4/norrenring2.jpg

[Svetlana]

I prefer the 1st one.

[greatwhites2k]

please, if it's not to much trouble specify why you prefer one photot over the other.

[dotTif]

I prefer the ring shine in #1 but the lighting on the pages in #2

[ty5353]

i like the composition of the first one. the 2nd one is too cropped for my taste.

[deemarie]

1st one, to much shine on second ring and crop too tight

[ejicon]

the 1st one. I'll be honest with you. It's the first time I've seen it. How did you do it :D

[Svetlana]

please, if it's not to much trouble specify why you prefer one photot over the other.

I like the colors of the first one, they are more subtle. And I like the crop better.

[Rubi Jane]

2nd one does it from me. For type of shot it's all about producing the hearts, that's what the clients will notice. With the broader lighting you have effectively produced better duplicate hearts (ring shadow and page vignette). Did you use a heart shaped lense vignette over the front element or add the vignette after in PS?

If you shot in RAW you could bring the highlights on the diamond a little in the 2nd shot, and also tame the page highlights just a tad.

[greatwhites2k]

thanks for all the input, For those who are interested in how i achieved this shot, it's actualy simple with a little patience and practice. I went into a room that could be completely darkened, put my camera on a tripod of course to eliminate camera shake cause i used a shutter speed of 1"6 sec. The hardest part i'd have to say is getting the ring to stand up, the trick i used is to get a little bit of clay, i used baking clay so it would't leave residue on the ring, put it where the ring meets the paper. this should make it easier. then focus in on what you want to be in focus with the lights on, this makes it easier cause sometimes it's hard to focus in the dark. after i focused i switched to manual focus so it wouldn't unfocus once i turned the lights off. turn off the lights, and i used an LED flashlight(torch) to light paint what i wanted. the way i got the heart effect is by holding the light behind the ring angled down and in the direction of the camera. and in ps i just bumped the contrast on both, and lowered the saturation on the 2nd one. Here's a quick illustration i did of the setup. I hope this helps.

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u111/japosrt4/howto.png

[ejicon]

Nicely done. Thanks for sharing your technique.

[ironchef31]

I like the second one if there wasn't such a sharp boundary from light to black.
Also just a bit of detail in the shadow region would help a bit.

[Chris&jess]

I like the first one. It's more about the ring than the book. Chris

[greatwhites2k]

yeah i like the "feeling" of #1, but something about #2 just catches my eye.

[sasadear]

second one

[txsnurse]

I vote for the feel of #1, but the lighting was better in #2

[Sypheed]

i prefer #1 as well, #2 was too shiny for my tastes.